Gubernatorial Candidate Allen Faces Difficult Task

Humors Supporters With Clinton Joke

NEWPORT NEWS — Republican gubernatorial candidate George F. Allen got one of his biggest laughs Thursday night when he told a joke about President Clinton.

At a campaign stop in Newport News, Allen said he was asked last year what would happen to Virginia if Clinton got elected.

"We'll secede again," as in the Civil War, Allen joked. "And this time we'll win because Clinton is such a pacifist."

The remark, clearly meant in jest, earned Allen points with the crowd of about 70 Peninsula residents, most of whom were party loyalists there to cheer on their candidate at what was billed as a town meeting.

But Allen, who trails Democrat Mary Sue Terry by double digits in public opinion polls, was worried about being branded an extremist. Democrats have been quick to call attention to the conservative flavor of this year's Republican ticket, which includes home-schooling advocate Michael Farris for lieutenant governor.

So just before the joke, he asked reporters, "Can this be off the record? People will take it the wrong way." And after the joke, he said, "I'm just kidding."

The incident, while trivial, underscored the difficult task Allen has in appealing to both moderates and conservatives as he seeks to narrow the gap with Terry. The balancing act was also evident during a discussion of a pending state reform of school curricula that conservatives fear will impose liberal values on students.

He won applause when he declared, "If I'm governor, they're not going to get any funding for it." But he also sought to avoid focusing on the issue, cutting short the questioning by telling one activist, "I want to make sure everyone gets a chance to ask a question."

Allen, a former congressman and state delegate from the Charlottesville area, has won support with his easygoing style and conservative credentials. He won several rounds of applause Thursday night as he advocated such popular conservative themes as no new taxes and welfare reform.

Allen, who chews tobacco and wears cowboy boots with his business suits, has tried to portray himself as a populist while casting Terry as part of an elite Democratic "regime" that has held power in Richmond for 12 years.

He ridiculed a Terry fund-raiser this month hosted by Democratic West Virginia Sen. John D. Rockefeller Jr. and first lady Hillary Clinton. "She's up there sipping wine and nibbling cheese at the Rockefeller mansion," Allen told the Newport News crowd at the Ramada Inn. "I'd much rather be here with you all."

Allen has spent most of this month on a campaign tour, pressing the flesh with local leaders and trying to raise money to compete with Terry's large war chest. He attended a breakfast in Williamsburg Thursday morning and toured Gloucester, Urbanna and Northern Neck neighborhoods before coming to Newport News.

He also accepted an invitation by WVEC-TV 13 to appear as a "guest weatherman" on its early morning newscast Wednesday. The station later decided to do an interview with him instead.

"But he was fully prepared to do it," said John Miller, the host of Good Morning, Hampton Roads. Miller said the Terry campaign declined the invitation to appear.

At Thursday's meeting, Allen again criticized Terry as being "asleep at the switch" when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Virginia will have to pay some 200,000 federal retirees compensation for taxes they paid on their pensions in the late 1980s.

Allen said Virginia needs to begin paying the money, which officials said could cost as much as $500 million. He said the money could be paid out "over a period of years" through tax credits. Terry has said the state should not pay until it gets a ruling from the Virginia Supreme Court on exactly how much the payment should be.